Thursday, April 24, 2014
Jumping Jack Flash
Both Breathless and Daisies gleefully subvert one of the most important conventions of classical cinema: continuity editing. In the same way that cubism ignored perspective in painting, or atonality rejected the tonal system in music, these films take a hammer to the way we traditionally understand a film. But does the extensive use of jump cuts create meaning in these films? Do they create a new language? Or do are they merely idiosyncratic irritants that get in the way of understanding the film? Focus on a particular example of a jump cut from one of these films and make a case for its meaning or lack of meaning (or is the lack of a meaning part of its broader meaning)?
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The main objective of both Daisies and Breathless is to force the audience to step into the shoes of an investigator and dissect the film that they are viewing. This technique differs greatly from the classic Hollywood model of film, in which the viewer receives background so that their hand is held during the preliminary stages of the movie. One of the most bewildering aspects of these films is the overuse of continuity editing, which causes the viewer to lose his or her sense of time and space. One excellent example of this use of the jump cut occurs in Breathless' early stages. Poiccard, whom the audiences presumes is the main character, has just stolen a car with the help of an unnamed woman and now he is carelessly driving throughout the French countryside. Godard then strings together a myriad of jump cuts and, in doing so, completely flummoxes the viewer. Due to this conjunction of jump cuts, you really don't know how long Poiccard has been driving. As a viewer with no background regarding his motives for stealing the car, and now having no idea of his driving duration, the audience is bound to be confused. Ultimately, I think that this technique has importance and there are two possible outcomes due to its usage. A viewer could be enthralled by this mystery of time and space and demonstrate intrigue towards the film; however, the contrasting outcome would be that a viewer didn't appreciate the lack of guidance and he or she would give up on the film.
ReplyDelete"Daisies" and "Breathless" are very innovative films that allow audiences to come up with their own conclusions. Unlike the typical Hollywood film where audience members can pretty much sum up the whole plot after watching it for only twenty minutes; the French New Wave and the Czech New Wave keep viewers engaged by making them come up with their own assumptions from the use of jump cuts. A prime example of the use of jump cuts in the film "Daisies" we see a lot of jump cuts leading the two main characters into dates with random men without at a formal transition or information about them. This allows us to come up with our own story about these men and how they know these two girls. We also see an example of this technique from the movie “Breathless”. Patricia is introduced to us through a jump cut where she is simply walking down the street passing out newspapers and all of a sudden Michel bumps into her. Prior to that scene we did not know who she was, we could only go off of the direct dialogue between her and Michel. Movies like "Breathless" and "Daisies" are films that you have to pay attention to thoroughly or else you wont understand it or else they will appear boring or confusing. These are the types of films that invite conversation afterwards; the directors want their viewers to develop a full appreciation for their masterpiece. Some of Hollywood’s most profound movies still uses this style today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Scott and Miles and their arguments of jump cuts creating and changing the way films are made. Off of what Scott said, “Breathless” really emphasizes on its jump cuts right off the bat with the main character driving a supposedly stolen car, leave the audience with many questions. Such as why did he steal this car? When did he steal this car? And whose car is it that he stole, did he receive help as well? While the audience is pondering over many unsolvable questions, a series of jump shots happen of the main character driving this car. The most noticeable shots were of him with a gun in his hand, acting like he was shooting another person in their car and one that actually has him shooting at nothing out of the window of his car. The most explosive jump cut that catches the audience’s eye is where the camera shows just the gun, then a few second later you hear a gun shot and the camera jumps straight to the officer falling in a ditch. In the film, “Daisies”, there are many jump cuts of the two girls doing several different activities that the average day person would never find themselves doing. The cuts between the activities that the girls are doing leave multiple questions and can be confusing. Both films represent a new era of films, the French and Czech new waves changing the way films were made by leaving the audience with many questions that they may never find out. This film making strategy is still used today in Hollywood films. Jump cuts were made for the audience to interact with the film more and find more interest, although they are confusing, they help the audience understand the film more.
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ReplyDeleteI entirely believe that the jump cuts provide some kind of meaning. Although traditionally jump cuts are known to disrupt continuity and cause confusion, I believe in Breathless and in Daisies, they are doing more than that. If I asked you to think back on your day - your last 24 hours- I'm sure you wouldn't remember every moment. There are those that stand out - key moments - almost like the short jump cuts in Breathless and Daisies. I think it adds a realistic aspect to both films. You are able to sympathize and connect with the characters moreso and see their perspective. For example, when Michel shoots the police officer, we do not even see them in the same frame. It happens so fast and before you know what is even going on, there is a cop dead and Michel holding the gun. It allows us to put us next to Michel. He didn't slowly take his time to aim the pistol at the cop's heart, then smile and fire; it happened so fast. It almost felt like he didn't mean to do it. This is the point I'm am trying to glimpse over with the jump cuts. I believe they actually are allowing us to feel what Michel is feeling. The whole movie is fast paced and full of jump cuts like Michel's lifestlye. Well, until the end. One of the first long takes in the entire film is when the whole situation is finally winding down. The cops are going to catch Michel, these two lovers seem to not be in love, and it is all finally over. The long take puts us in the shoes of Michel and after a roller coaster ride, we are finally back at the loading station - with cops waiting for us.
ReplyDeleteThe jump cuts in both films represent more than just a unique way of filming. They represent how both films come across to the audience, and that is the unpredictability of certain scenes. I agree with what Seth said about how both “Daisies” and “Breathless” and how jump cuts really change the meaning of a certain scene in the film. For example, the car scene at the beginning of Breathless represents the chaos of the particular scene. Michel is driving away from the police on the motorcycles and the jump cuts are making the car look like it is driving in opposite directions. As Scott mentioned, it is impossible for the audience to know how long Michel had been driving the car and even in some scenes, it looks like the car is driving faster compared to other parts. The jump cuts create a lot of uncertainty and confusion which contributes to how the scene is supposed to get across to the audience. As for Daisies, it is clear that the film in itself is extremely strange and lacks normality. The jump cuts and fast, jerky motions made by the characters in “Daisies” show their incoherent nature towards each other and the things surrounding them. It is a tribute to their personalities and how their random actions reflect the jump cuts in the film. While jump cuts are known to be random and unnecessary at times, they contributed to the story in both films, and helped the viewer keep guessing, which ultimately, made the films for entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that the use of jump cuts play an important role in both of these films. I think the use of a jump cut is a strategic decision, that says something about the message of the movie. It's not necessarily confusion that ensues, but a moment to think, encouraging the audience to pause and take a moment to put the pieces together on their own. I think some directors liked the use of jump cuts because they were sick of the traditional movie that spelled everything out, sometimes in excruciating detail, for the audience. The use of a jump cut puts some of the work in understanding the film on the audience.
ReplyDeleteThe jump cuts in Daisies, that take the audience from the main movie into these serial, color-tined worlds are particularly interesting to me. I think the point of them is to maybe take us into the minds of the women. Rather than just watching the film, observing what's going on as a mere audience member, the jump cuts allow us to feel almost as if we are apart of the movie. As if we're there with the two women, thinking just like they're thinking. And most importantly, it gives us a moment to pause, maybe even to catch up. Watching the girls laying on the ground, as the entire scene turns orange, purple, or green excites us, retains our focus, and makes us long to once again return to the central plot of the story.
Breathless is full of jump cuts, leaving the audience always guessing on what is actually happening. This uncertain adds to the story being told suggesting that maybe even the characters are not completely sure about somethings either. An example of this can be seen in Michel’s actions . Many of the jump cuts are involved in hiding the reasoning behind Michel’s actions. For example the mystery surrounding the scene in which Michel shoot and kills a policeman. The jumps in the film along with what is not shown lends a great deal of uncertainty to why he feels the need to do what he does. It suggest that maybe he does not even know why he shot the policeman. Another example of this is when Michel decides to let the police catch him, there is no apparent reason for his decision other than that he claims he does not feel like running anymore. There are big gaps in the continuity of the film surrounding this decision.
ReplyDeleteAnother way the jump cuts are used is to basically remove the police from film. Almost any time the police seem to be catching up to Michel, the film cuts to a point where the police have lost him again. This gives the impression of great incompetence on the part of the police even if they might actually be right on his tail. Even in the end when Michel gets shot by someone who we assume to be the police, it is not very clear why they shoot or even if it actually is the police.